Some people in South Africa were reinfected with Covid-19 variants after they have already recovered from the virus, said World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Friday.
“We are now receiving reports of people being reinfected with the new variant of the virus, and there were some initial reports from South Africa suggesting that people who had a previous infection could be infected again.” she told a WHO news briefing.
Swaminathan did not specify the number of people reinfected in South Africa, but said that ongoing scientific studies are looking at how long antibodies protect people after they have contracted the virus.
The scientist said that a recent UK study of health workers found that 85 percent of the cohort had developed protection against being reinfected with Covid-19 six to eight months after they first contracted the virus.
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A South African study published in pre-printed format last month found that the country’s indigenous mutation, 501Y.V2, showed “Substantial or complete escape” neutralizing antibodies in the human body that target Covid-19.
“These data highlight the prospect of reinfection” and can “Foretelling reduced effectiveness” vaccines, according to the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Another larger and more generalized study of 43,000 people with Covid-19 antibodies in Qatar concluded that reinfection is “crude,” and that the natural infection produced strong protection against the virus for at least seven months.
The South African variant has more genetic mutations than previous forms of the virus, including the E484K mutation, which appears to have an impact on the body’s immune response, potentially increasing the likelihood of reinfection.
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It accounts for more than 80 percent of cases in South Africa and has spread to at least 32 countries worldwide.
South Africa has severely limited its launch of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine due to concerns that it will not work against the strain and is instead prioritizing the use of other jabs, including the one made by Johnson & Johnson.
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